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Closing Attorney Charged With Wire Fraud In Mortgage Loan Scheme

BIRMINGHAM – Federal prosecutors have charged a Birmingham real estate lawyer with wire fraud in connection with a nearly $1 million mortgage fraud scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office charged KELVIN LEONARD DAVIS, 41, with four counts of wire fraud for knowingly submitting false mortgage documents and statements to various lenders in order to obtain approval for mortgage loans. At the time of the fraudulent transactions, from October 2007 to January 2012, Davis served as the closing attorney on each of the fraudulent loan transactions.

Davis has agreed to plead guilty to the charges and to forfeit $269,335 to the government as proceeds of the illegal activity.

The charges against Davis were filed in October. Documents in the case were unsealed last week in U.S. District Court.

According to the four-count information charging Davis, and his plea agreement with the government, he carried out his fraud as follows:

Davis submitted false statements with loan documents in order to obtain approval for mortgage loans that would, otherwise, not have been approved. In many instances, Davis, while serving as closing attorney, would use his trust account to provide money to the borrower when a mortgage loan was closing. Davis would recover the money by subtracting the amount he provided from the proceeds he issued to the seller. Davis also would assess the seller a fee, ranging from $1,000 to $6,000, and make checks for the fee payable to Peaceful Valley Homes, a corporation he had formed. Total losses to the various lenders as a result of Davis’ fraud were nearly $1 million.

The maximum sentence for each count is 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

The FBI and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Robin Mark is prosecuting.

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